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Living on the Edge

This piece explores the Eco-Israel apprenticeship program at the Hava v'Adam ecological farm in Israel. The program focuses on studying permaculture, a design system and philosophy modeled after nature systems and applied to community life and social structures. The piece elaborates on the various challenges and experiences associated with the program which included planning the group's first Shabbat. Close attention is paid to the idea of the edge effect, which describes the interactions of borders between separate niches, which in this context applies to the way in which members of the community connect through activities and interactions while creating their own niches within this ecosystem. The piece concludes by noting how the edge can be found in contemporary Jewish life.